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Martin Sutherland, the recently announced Executive Director and Chief Executive of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, and Creative Director Chenine Bhathena say the BBC will be a key partner in the delivery and legacy of 2021. Martin said: “To have this level of commitment from the BBC is great news for Coventry.

“One of the first high-profile visits to the city after it was announced that we had won was from Lord Hall and I know colleagues who met him that day were delighted with just how keen he is to support UK City of Culture in Coventry in 2021.

“The relationship will be much more than the BBC broadcasting events that are taking place, it will be partnership that sees us working together on programming to strengthen our role in the UK’s creative economy, and profile raising for the city in the lead up to and during 2021.”

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Chenine said: "There is a real buzz about Coventry right now and having this type of commitment from the BBC’s Director General is a further boost for our plans for 2021 and beyond.

“You only have to look at how the BBC’s Biggest Weekend brought great music to the city over the course of a couple of days. It projected Coventry onto the national stage, turning up the volume and giving us amazing coverage through radio, TV and digital platforms.

“This amazing weekend allowed the city’s story, and many of the aspects of why we won UK City of Culture, to be told to a national audience. That is only going to be multiplied in coming years thanks to this brilliant commitment from Lord Hall.”

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Lord Hall visited Coventry in March – just weeks after the UK City of Culture announcement.

He told an audience at the time that the BBC ‘had the energy’ to make Coventry’s dreams come true.

“You’ve got three years before you are UK City of Culture and that is just enough time for us to work with you to make your dreams come true and to do the things you want the BBC to help you to do,” he said.

“We’ve got the time and, believe me, with the BBC, we’ve got the energy.”